Charles g



Oct. 2 1923.

C. G. PALMER SOCKET WRENCH Filed Dec. 15 1921 .Il V..

/m/ENTOR Patented Oct. 2, 1923.

PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES G. PALMER, OF NEWARK,` NEW JERSEY.

SOCKET WRENCH.

' Application led December 15, 1921.v Serial No. 522,506.

T o all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, CHARLES G. PALMER, a citizen of the United States,residing in Newark, inthe county oi' Essex and State of New Jersey, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Socket Vrenches, ofwhich the following is a speciflcation. y

l The principalpurpose of this invention is to produce a wrench, of thexed socket type, in which a plurality of reversible heads, each havingtwo unlike openings, are interchangeably yengageable with a single loperating bar.

Another important object is to provide storage .mounting means for suchof the heads as are not in o erative position whereby anyselected hea isinstantly accessible for use.

A further purpose is in the provision of simple' but effective means forretaining a selected head in operative position on the wrenchhandle bar,similar means also be` ing used in preventing the remainingheads frombecoming displaced.

These and other objects, such as convenience, strength, simplicity andeconomy in construction, are secured by the novel construction andcombination of parts hereafter fully described and clearly shown in theaccompanying drawing, forming a material part of this disclosure, and inwhich i' Figure 1 is a perspective view of a wrench showing anembodiment of the invention, one of the heads being in operativeposition and shown in longitudinal section to disclose its construction.

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the same looking fromthe engaging side.

The handle bar, designated in the drawing by the numeral 5, is formedwith a rela` tively short right angle extension 6 at one end, from barsteel of uniform hexagonal cross section, both end surfaces being iin- Yished flat and square across.

Adjacent the end surface 6', of the bent portion of the bar, is ashallow annular groove 7 having a semi-circular concave bottom andadapted to loosely coniine a spring metal ring 8 having an opening 8between its adjacent ends which permit contraction of the ring withinthe groove, while normally the periphery of the ring extends slightlyoutward beyond the flat longitudinal surfaces of the hexagonal bar.

A similar groove 9 is formed adjacent to the end 5 of the handley barand fitted to it, in a like manner, is a corresponding spring ring v1()having a spaced endopening 10.

"he wrench heads, three of which are shown, respectively 11, 12 and 13are each essentially cylinders of varying diameter and length as bestsuited to the sizes of the socket opening contained in their respectiveends, both of which are fitted to receive and neatly engage nuts, boltheads, etc., in turning the same, the articles being variable in sizes,proportions and cross sections.

As an illustration, the head 11 is seen to have a hexagonal socket 14 inone end and a slightly larger socket 15 in `its opposite and operativelydisposed end.

Disposed midway between `the socket openings is a web 16 having acentral hex. agonal through opening' 17 fitting the handle bar element 6and also capable of sliding over the main, straight portion 5 of thebar, and it is to be understood that each 'of the several socket'headsare duplicateswith 1respect to the web 16 and opening 17.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that upon entering the barelement 6 through either end of any ot the socket heads, the extendingportions 6 will, by proper manipulation of the bar and headrespectively, find .its way into the axial opening 17 and upon applyingsuiiicient pressure, cause the curved contacting periphery of the ring 8to contract, thus preventing retraction and consequent separation of theparts until considerable force is exerted.

In order to avoid having the end 6 of the handle bar project unduly intothe sockets disposed for operative engagement with an article, detentlugs 18 extend integrally out from opposed points on the bent portion 6of the handle bar to engage the adjacent surface of the web 16, thesedetents being so located as to permit the spring ring 8 to properlyfunction, thus preventing respective longitudinal movement.

It will be seen that the socket heads, not in actual use, can be readilyslipped over the retaining spring ring 10 at the outer, straight end 0ithe bar 5 and when so mounted are held in a convenient manner, safe fromloss and instantly accessible at will.

While certain preferred embodiments of this device have been shown anddescribed, it will be understood that changes in the form, arrangements,proportions, sizes and;

details thereof may bemade Without departing from the scope of theinvention as defined in the appended claims. Y

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new and desiretonsecure by Letters Patent, is-

' l. A Wrench comprising an angled handle bar of uniform cross section,a reversible socket head having unlike sockets in each end, a web insaid socket intermediate said end sockets, said Web having an openingengageable with said bar, and means at each end of said bar forretaining saidy head thereon.

2. A wrench comprising an angled handle bar of uniform cross section, areversible.

' socket head having unlike sockets'in each end, means interjacent saidsockets engageable with said bar, and spring detente carried by said barlor securing said heads upon either the straight or angled portion ofsaid bar. 'l

3. A Wrench comprising a hexagonal bar having an angularprojection saidprojection having a'shallow annularl groove adjacent its end, a doubleended socket head, a transverse web in .said head intermediate saidsockets fitted to receive said projection, and a single spring ringcarried in said groove, said ring being suited to pass through theopening in said Web and engage the side opposite said har.

4, A Wrench comprising a bar of polygonal cross section, a short angularextension at one end thereof, said extension having an annular groovenear its end, a split ring loosely contained in said groove, acylindrical head having unlike Sockets in each end, a transverse webintermediate said sockets, said web having an opening suited to receivesaid extension and permit the forced passage of said ring, andy detentlugs integral with said extension adapted to contact with said weblimiting the position of said ring with respect to the web.

5. A wrench comprising a bar of polygonal cross section, a short angularextension at one end thereof, annular grooves near the ends of saidbarand its extension, detente on said extension spaced definitely from thering carried thereby, a reversible socket head having unlike sockets intheir' opposite ends, and Webs in said` heads having openingsn receptiveof said bar, said Webs being uniformly equivalent in thickness to thedistance between said detents and adjacent 6. Av wrench comprising a barhaving polygonal sides, an angular extension at one end, stops on saidextension, a double ended socket head having a central part suited to 05receive said bar or its extension, spring means carried by saidextension adapted to engage one side of said part to maintain the otherside of the part in contact-With said stops whereby said head is held inoperand witnessed

